Lou Beale
Louise "Lou" Ada Beale was the battleaxe mother of seven children, including twins Pauline Fowler and Pete Beale, who lived in Walford her entire life and was married to Albert Beale. One of her children, Maggie Flaherty, was put up for adoption because she was born out of wedlock, while another two of her children, Kenny Beale and Pete, were both involved in a love affair with an enemy of Lou's, Pat Wicks. Lou spent most of the final years of her life sorting out many of her family's troubles. In 1985, she helped her grandson, Ian Beale, come out from his father, Pete's, shadow and take control of his own life. She also frequently looked after the family's fruit and vegetable stall on the market, until she collapsed one day and was diagnosed with angina by Dr Legg. She also helped one of her daughters, Pauline, through a rough patch with her husband, Arthur Fowler, when he became unemployed and diagnosed with depression and hospitalised. In July 1988, Lou began to fall ill more frequently and feared she was dying. She got her family together for a meeting and, after giving them all some home truths, gave them gifts of hers so that they could remember her once she was gone. She died the next morning and was buried next to her husband. Biography 1910-1985: Early life in Walford Lou was born in Walford in 1910, a place where she lived her whole life. She was born into a large working-class East End family and was brought up with a strong sense of community spirit. In the 1930s, Lou met her future husband-to-be, Albert Beale, and the two quickly fell in love. They had a daughter, Maggie Flaherty, together, but they had her adopted because she was born out of wedlock. By 1936, Albert and Lou had married. They moved into 45 Albert Square together and proceeded to have another six children together: Harry, Ronnie, Kenny, Dora, Pete and Pauline. In 1965, Albert died. Lou continued to live at Number 45 with her daughter, Pauline, and her husband, Arthur Fowler. She banished one of her sons, Kenny, to New Zealand in the 1960s after learning he had had an affair with his brother, Pete's, wife, Pat Wicks. Lou had three grandchildren: Ian Beale and Mark and Michelle Fowler, who she watched grow up together. 1985-1988: Family troubles and health struggles In February 1985, Lou learnt that her daughter, Pauline, had fallen pregnant once again with her third child. Lou was furious about Pauline's pregnancy, as the family was already suffering from financial difficulty due to Arthur's long stint of unemployment. She gave Pauline three decisions over the baby: abort it, adopt it, or have it and move out. Pauline was upset by Lou's nastiness over the situation, so the family pulled together to try and convince Lou to change her mind. They were successful after arranging a holiday for her by Clacton-on-Sea. Martin Fowler was born in July 1985, and while Lou is thrilled by the arrival of her new grandson, she wished for him to be named after Albert, and was displeased when he was not. .]] When Ian was wound up by his father, Pete, about wanting to be a chef in April 1985, Lou intervened and ensured her grandson would not buckle under his demanding father's pressure for him to have a "masculine" career. She helped Ian come out of his shell and realise he could be whatever he wanted to be. Lou was hospitalised in late 1985 when she collapsed after a hectic day running around for her family. She was diagnosed with angina and Dr Legg told Lou and her family that changes had to be made to accommodate her and her new diagnosis. Lou was furious about the changes that were made, but despite her demands to have things go back to normal, they did not, and she was quickly forced to get used to them. After Simon Wicks, who Lou originally believed was her grandson, arrived in 1985, she was delighted. However, in 1986, Lou discovered that Simon had pawned Albert's watch, a present she gave him. She then learnt that he was in £3000 debt and was mortified. Simon's mother, Pat, then arrived in 1986 and Lou was disgusted to see her again. The pair's long-running feud had not dissolved and Lou was determined to see Pat out of Walford, as Pete had made a good life for himself. This did not happen though and instead, Pat told Pete that Simon might not even be his son, as she was sleeping with Kenny at the same time. Pat's confession led to serious tension in the family. Lou knew that Pat knew who Simon's father was, but Pat refused to divulge the information. Kenny then arrived in 1988 and the pair confronted Pat, but did not get anywhere. In 1988, Lou's health began to deteriorate. She began to fall ill more frequently and by July 1988, she felt she was dying. She decided to dish out home truths to her family one more time before dying. She visited Pat again and, after making final peace with her, told her to do the right thing and tell Simon who his biological father was. She then turned her attention back to her family and gave them gifts to remember her by. Feeling satisfied after giving her family home truths one more time, she headed to bed and died the next day. Background information *Lou was one of the original set of twenty-three characters in EastEnders and appeared in the first episode. *Lou was the first character ever created for the series, and was based on show co-creator Tony Holland's aunt, who was also called Lou Beale. *Lou was once referred to as "Louisa" by Ethel Skinner, despite her actual name being Louise. Vicar Duncan Boyd also accidentally called her "Louisa" instead of Louise at her funeral. *There was often confliction on-screen over the name of Lou's children. In early 1985, Lou's other children were named as Keith, Paul and Norma, however later dialogue forgot those names and introduced new character names as Lou's children. *The show's co-creator, Julia Smith, was so upset when Anna Wing decided to leave that she told Anna she could have stayed in the show until she died in real-life. First and last lines "I don't know Ethel, who is it?" (First line) --- "Right, that's you lot sorted out! I can go now." (Final line) See also *Full list of appearances Category:EastEnders characters Category:Original characters Category:1985 debuts Category:1988 deaths Category:Residents of 45 Albert Square Category:1910 births Category:1936 marriages Category:Beale and Fowler family Category:Characters played by different actors